Tracking developments in the Russian military

Menu

Russian Air Force capabilities and procurement plans

And here is the last installment of my three Oxford Analytica briefs on Russian military procurement plans. This one was originally published on October 20, 2014. As with the others (on the Navy and Ground Forces), I have not updated the content, though I have restored some material that was cut from the published version due to space constraints.

——–

As part of the State Armament Programme (SAP-2020), the Russian Air Force is set to receive a large number of new aircraft and to modernise at least half of those aircraft that are not being replaced. The service is strongest in combat aircraft, while transport and refuelling aircraft remain a weak point. Russia was relatively late in starting to develop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), though some progress is now being made in this area. Increases in transport capabilities will increase the mobility of the Russian military, though they will continue to lag well behind those of NATO competitors and will only be sufficient to make part of the Russian military a mobile force capable of rapid response.

Impacts

The next generation of Russian combat aircraft will be broadly comparable to fifth-generation US fighter planes

Russian long-range bombers will continue their recently increased deployment patterns, patrolling near the borders of NATO states

Greater in-air refuelling capabilities will extend bomber ranges but will be insufficient fully to meet all Russian tactical aviation needs

Violations of NATO and other Western airspaces to test response times and radar/intelligence capabilities of host countries will increase

ANALYSIS: Despite the decay of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Russian Air Force remains the second largest in the world. It has approximately 2,500 aircraft in service, 75-80% of which are operational. Since the 2009 reform, the Air Force has been divided among over 60 bases, each of which reports to one of four operational strategic commands. The Russian Army and Navy are undergoing similar rearmament/reform programmes.

Fighters

Throughout the post-Soviet period, Russia’s air combat forces have consisted primarily of six types of aircraft:

The venerable Su-24 strike aircraft was introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1974. It is gradually being replaced by the Su-34, though approximately 100 remain in service.

The Su-25 close air support aircraft was introduced in 1981; about 150 are in service.

The fourth-generation Su-27 fighter was introduced in 1984; about 350 are in service.

A modernised version of the Su-27, the Su-30 was introduced in 1992; about 45 are in service.

The fourth-generation MiG-29 fighter was introduced in 1983; about 250 are in service.

The MiG-31 interceptor was introduced in 1982; about 130 are in service and operational.

New aircraft have been received as well, primarily 35 Su-35 ‘fourth-plus-plus-generation’ fighters and 46 Su-34 strike aircraft. These planes will remain the primary combat aircraft in the Russian Air Force for the next decade.

Bombers

The current inventory of long-range bombers consists of three types:

The 16 Tu-160 strategic bombers are supersonic long-range bombers designed in the 1980s that have been in limited service since the 1990s. They have a maximum speed of Mach 2 and a range of over 12,000 kilometres (km). They can be armed with either conventional cruise missiles or nuclear missiles.

The 32 operational Tu-95MS strategic bombers are turboprop planes that have been in service since the 1950s, though the version currently in service was built in the 1980s. These have a maximum speed of 920 km/hour and a range of 15,000 km. They are armed with conventional cruise missiles.

The 41 operational Tu-22M3 long-range supersonic bombers, built in 1970s and 1980s, have a maximum speed of 2,000 km/hour and a range of 6,800 km.

Bombers’ resurrection

Russia’s bombers were virtually inactive until 2007, when continuous patrols resumed. Since then, they have averaged 80-100 hours’ flying time per year. Overall, Russia’s existing long-range bombers can be expected to continue to operate for at least the next two decades.

Currently, 4-6 Tu-95s and 2-3 Tu-160s are being modernized each year, primarily including improvements in targeting and navigational systems. Overall, Russia’s existing long range bombers can be expected to continue to operate for at least next two decades, so the air force certainly has time on its side in developing a new design for a next generation long range bomber.

Military transports

The transport aviation branch has been expanded in recent years. In addition to its traditional transport function, it now operates airborne warning and control system (AWACS) planes and is responsible for transporting airborne troops. The mainstay of the existing transport fleet is the Il-76, with approximately 100 operational. These still have 2-3 decades of life, so there is no need for wholesale replacement, especially with a planned modernization that will include new engines and improved electronics. Thirty-nine modernized Il76-MD aircraft are on order. Transport aviation also operates a variety of Ukrainian-built Antonov planes, largely left over from the Soviet days. Plans to replace them with more modern variants have been in flux over recent years and are likely to be canceled given the suspension of military cooperation between Russia and Ukraine.

Transport aviation now operates 18 A-50 AWACS aircraft, including three that have been modernized. In the medium term, the military plans to produce a new generation A-100 AWACS plane based on the Il-76MD body.

Refuelling shortage

The big problem is a severe shortage of refuelling planes, with only 20-25 Il-78 tankers available. Most of these planes are committed to serving long-range aviation, which limits their ability to train with combat and transport aircraft. An additional 40 planes are on order, which will help somewhat to reduce this limitation.

Procurement plans

SAP-2020 contains an ambitious agenda for modernising Russia’s military aircraft, allocating over 4 trillion rubles (130 billion dollars) to re-outfitting the Air Force. The investment would result in the acquisition of more than 600 modern aircraft, including fifth-generation fighters, as well as more than 1,000 helicopters and a range of air defence systems.

Over the last four years, Russia’s aircraft industry has been relatively successful in meeting the targets set by SAP-2020 for combat aircraft. In just the last two years, it has built 28 Su-35S and 34 Su-30 fighters, as well as 20 Su-34 strike aircraft. Future plans call for the production of an additional 13 Su-35S and 83 Su-34 aircraft over the next six years, as well as the start of serial production of the T-50 fifth-generation fighter.

If all plans are carried out, by 2020 Russia will have 50 T-50, 90 Su-35 and over 60 Su-30 fighters, as well as 120 Su-34 strike aircraft. This will allow the Russian Air Force to retire all of its old Su-27 and Su-24 aircraft. Russian analysts believe that 50-55 MiG-35 fighter jets may also be ordered, starting the replacement of aging MiG-29s.

Sukhoi’s T-50 fifth-generation fighter

Russian strike aircraft are of fairly high quality, with the main problems revolving around the age of the air frames rather than their capabilities. Although it is a formidable aircraft, some questions have been raised about the feasibility of the development time-lines for the T-50 and how genuine are the capabilities of its fifth-generation technology. Nevertheless, the Russian military will have a fifth-generation strike fighter in serial production sometime in the next decade.

Ending cooperation with Ukraine

More significant is the revitalisation of less glamorous parts of the aviation industry, especially transport and refuelling aircraft. The construction of new production lines for these types of aircraft will go a long way towards the government’s stated goals of making the Russian military more mobile and extending the range of its attack aircraft through aerial refuelling.

However, gaps in both transport and refuelling capacity will remain a problem well into the next decade, due in part to the end of military cooperation with Ukraine.

UAV development

The military is also likely to benefit from relatively rapid growth in UAV capabilities as new designs reach the production stage. However, Russia’s UAV capabilities are likely to remain well behind those of its Western competitors for the rest of the decade.

CONCLUSION: Future development will focus on a new long-range bomber, which may be capable of hypersonic speeds, with production expected to start around 2020. Serial production of the T-50 fighter jet will continue to expand, with expectations that a total of 250 aircraft of this type will be produced over the next 15 years. Finally, Russian aircraft designers are currently developing a strike UAV that they hope will be ready to enter production by 2020.

5 thoughts on “Russian Air Force capabilities and procurement plans”

Gaps in transport capability due to non existent relations with Ukraine will be filled over the next few years, though the An-70 will be a serious loss to the Russian military the combination of Il-112 and Il-114 will replace the An-26/An-32 types and take the place of the An-140 which was probably going to be ordered in fairly large numbers as a concession to the Ukraine aircraft industry. The joint MTA with India will replace the AN-12 in the 20 ton class payload aircraft range and of course the Il-476 will be produced to replace AWACS, refuelling, firefighting, and transport models of the Il-76, and bypass the need for the AN-70.

the An-22 and An-124 will be more of a problem to replace with Ilyusion talking about a future wide bodied aircraft potentially being designed in the heavy weight class.

Regarding the lack of inflight refueling aircraft, well up until recently that wasn’t really an issue because very few tactical aircraft were fitted with inflight refueling probes anyway and the fact that they are largely defensive means any long range flights can be performed by Flankers which have long flight range already.

The two areas they benefit from inflight refuelling is strategic bombers (Backfire is a theatre bomber but does not have an inflight refueling probe), and long range interception with the Foxhound having inflight refueling probes.

BTW I find it hilarious you consider an impact of the growth of Russian air power that: “Violations of NATO and other Western airspaces to test response times and radar/intelligence capabilities of host countries will increase”

Can you back that up with facts, or is it a simple case of the west having airspace that extends beyond their own legal airspace and out to include international air space?

Russia is under serious economic and political and military sanctions because the west claims it is interfering in the Ukraine and Russia is not allowed a sphere of influence outside its own borders… but the west owns international airspace?

It’s not just a claim that Russia is interfering in Ukraine! There is plenty of proof that Russia has plenty of troops and equipment in Ukraine. Where do you think all the modern sophisticated Russian equipment being used against Ukraine came from? Or the professional soldiers without insignia(lots of stories secretly coming out of Russia about wounded and dead soldiers over the last few months, Russian soldiers captured in Ukraine). You would have to be in another reality to believe Russia isn’t actively involved in the fighting in Ukraine!

IF there was plenty of proof I am sure the west would produce it when it imposes yet more sanctions on Russia.

It doesn’t… so one can clearly assume there isn’t any proof.

If there was a sudden civil war in England then it is rather likely that a few Scots and Welshmen and people from a few other countries in the area might get involved in the fighting… and who knows… they might even take a few bits of equipment with them…

But lets face it… there is plenty of weapons in the Ukraine already, and the Eastern separatists seem to be able to capture it from their enemy easily enough… like all those Javelin missiles and those battlefield artillery radars they got from the US.

In this reality the US is sending weapons and personel to train Kievs stormtroopers and they are on the other side of the planet so why shouldn’t Russia get involved?

To get back on topic perhaps Russia should declare that the illegal government in Kiev should not be allowed to shell civilians and bomb civilians and create a no fly zone over the all of the Ukraine…